The Mother See of the Armenian Church is based at Etchmiadzin in Armenia and this is where the Catholicos is based as well as being the base for the spiritual and administrative bodies of the church.
Each area in the world where an Armenian church is located has dioceses and each diocese is made up of parishes.
The priestly order in the Armenian church has both married and celibate clergy though only the celibate priests are eligible for advancement within the church, while married priests become parish pastors.
In England there are three Armenian church buildings, one on Manchester and two in London but as the biblical definition of church being a community of believers there are several more places in the British Isles where an Armenian “Mission Parish” church has been recently established. These are Cardiff, Birmingham and Dublin. A Mission Parish is directly under the supervision of the Primate of the Armenian church, based in London, with the object of bringing the Christian message to people living in parts of the country where no Armenian church building or community exist. A Mission Parish Council (MPC) is appointed by the Primate in conjunction with the local community and this council is responsible for organizing regular worship services and promoting the church programmes and activities among the local Armenians.
Primate Very Revd. Dr. Vahan Hovhanessian set up the Armenian Mission Parish Council (MPC) for all Ireland in March 2011. In October 2010, The Armenian Church in Ireland was officially recognized, for the first time, by the Authorities in Ireland as a legal denomination and given the right to conduct its religious services and sacraments and preside over wedding ceremonies. The Armenian Church is a member of the Dublin Council of Churches (DCC) since September 2015.
Visitation of the mission parish by the clergy to celebrate Badarak (Divine Liturgy and Communion) , the establishment of educational programmes regarding the Armenian faith, Bible studies, lectures and the provision of leadership and encouragement are just some of the objectives of a mission parish. Some of the pictures of such events in Dublin are presented in the photo and video galleries. Badarak hymns and music can be found in the Resources menu of the website.
For further information about the MPC and its activities you may contact the Chairman Mrs. Ayda Sarafian or the Vice Chairman Kristina Begoyan.
MPC Committee Members
Mrs. Ayda Sarafian, Chairman
Mrs. Kristina Begoyan, Vice Chairman
Dr. Paul Manook
Donations and Membership Fees
Anyone wishing to pay Membership Fees and/or Donations to Armenian Church of Ireland Account through banking, please contact armmpc@gmail.com to get banking details. Thank you.